Let's go on a rapid roadtrip through the heart of human metabolism! Feel free to download and use this map – please cite if you do, thanks! youtu.be/-x8S4SSbn58 Bibel, B., & The bumbling biochemist. (2024). Core Metabolic Roadmap. Zenodo. zenodo.org/doi/10.5281/...

PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) overview, design, and troubleshooting tips youtu.be/DIiRT8OuzJ8

In the lab, X-marks the relative concentration! youtu.be/gigGrPm5CyU

Take a hint! Key word roots etc. that will help you figure out lots about biochemical reactions from names of molecules and enzymes alone! youtu.be/OtKkzX15ikw

Uniprot vs. the PDB: Understanding their entries and differences Bottom line: * Each entry in Uniprot corresponds to a protein (chain) * Each entry in the PDB (Protein DataBank) corresponds to a structural model

You finally got your PCR to work? Great! Now, clean up your mess! youtu.be/3FyGRAlbv_8 blog version (text old, video new): bit.ly/spincolumns

If you've got glucose, you've got options! Glycolysis tends to get all the spotlight, but that's just one way to go! (At least until you reach a one-way arrow!) More on metabolism: bit.ly/metabolismgl... & bit.ly/bbmetabolism

Quick lab tip: Use magnetic clips to clip your protocol above you as you. You can use metal tape to create surfaces if needed and allowed. Unlike just taping up your protocol, with clips you can easily flip through things to see what's coming up, change ordering, etc. youtube.com/shorts/Qw93p...

Electron Transport Chain and Oxidative Phosphorylation practice problems (uncouplers, low O2, etc.) & review youtu.be/cne0QtdKPOo Made for my class, so your mileage may vary, but hope this can help someone.

Our reusable bottle-top vacuum filter finally came! And I honestly don’t know who was more excited: me or the students I have the privilege of working with! Huge props to Korina, Liam, and Ryan! youtu.be/buV1_E4APBs

Metabolic thermodynamics, metabolic logic, and metabolic pathway diagram notation: review

Biochemistry outlines/study guides adapted from ones I give my undergraduate Biochemistry students. Your mileage might vary, but thought these might help people so thought I'd share. thebumblingbiochemist.com/biochemistry...

Outline of biosignaling, membrane transport, metabolic thermodynamics, biochemical redox, the electron transport chain (ETC) and oxidative phosphorylation (oxphos) Adapted from a version I give my Biochemistry undergraduate students. drive.google.com/file/d/1mEQQ...

When it comes to multichannel pipettes, evenness is the name of the game! Apply even, vertical pressure to make sure your liquid levels are the same!  So fun teaching Alice, Korina, and Liam to use them and putting them to exciting use for an experiment! youtu.be/ZEjBtAFmb_8

Save that sleeve! When you open up a sleeve of Petri dishes, do so carefully from the top and save the bag to use as a storage sleeve. youtube.com/shorts/qjx3p...

Redox time in biochem class . . . M&M's came out in full force yesterday

Repeater pipets are surprisingly under-used and appreciated in my experience. But Korina and Ryan loved using them and definitely appreciated them! I love being able to introduce undergrads to wonderful lab life! And I definitely appreciate them (much more than the pipets :) ) youtu.be/KgwlmDRlS4s

p10s are my favorite pipets and I'm finally reunited with one! youtube.com/shorts/fVuko...

When you’re too short for your whiteboard . . . (caught in the act on our classroom recording system…)

Don’t confuse e.g. with i.e. or et al. or etc. (and use them all properly!) youtu.be/L6yz23HWhbc

Periodic PSA: "western" should be lowercase in western blot – unlike the "Southern" blot, which was named for a person, the western blot was named for a laugh

A walkthrough of some of my favorite science nonfiction (mostly biochemistry-related) youtu.be/1uLh-OzZSaQ

Lab life's ambidextrous: one handed tube handling. . . I love getting to help build undergrad's lab technique skills! youtube.com/shorts/R-SCY...

Tips for setting up a bio-rad tetra cell SDS-PAGE box without leaks YouTube: youtu.be/tqVlB6V_5ZI

Tips for using Hamilton syringes & other needle/syringe options for injecting into an FPLC. PS – what better way to celebrate than new lab member Ryan injecting protein onto an AKTA for the first time?! Whatever you choose make sure it's blunt-end :) youtu.be/xRTXjlThg7U

Determining the void volume (Vo) of a Size Exclusion Chromatography (SEC)/Gel Filtration (GF) column with Blue Dextran youtu.be/3L6o2T_O3Mc

Welcome to the Bibel lab Ryan! We’re so happy to have you on our team! (And you seem to be good luck as Korina got the PCR figured out!) More about the Bibel lab at LMU and what we do: bibellab.lmu.build

Metabolic logic part 2: Metabolically reversible vs. irreversible reactions, biochemical pathway notation, regulatory principles, and ATP as cellular currency youtu.be/2n2iWXrcDSM

Metabolic logic part 1: Intro to metabolism & metabolic thermodynamics youtu.be/C8wFhrDbsT8

Quick tips: FPLC (e.g. AKTA) needle maintenance (washes, cleaning wires, selection, etc.) youtu.be/O63D9mT820M

LOOOOOONG day – up at Boston at 3:30 am to teach an afternoon lab until 5 in LA! (Followed by catching up on course prep for tomorrow morning’s class). PRIME was definitely worth it though!

I’m soooo grateful that I had the honor & privilege of presenting at the PRIME meeting. It was my first time representing LMU in a talk & I was so proud to get to share some of my students’ work, why I love teaching them in the lab, & how I plan to incorporate more students in research in a CURE

One of the great things about the teacher-scholar model of a place like LMU, where I get to both do research and teach, is that I feel like I have communities in both the research world and the undergraduate education world (although at times I feel like an imposter in both). @aktaguy.bsky.social

What a day! From a red-eye flight to a tour of the Cytiva factory, where I felt like I was in a whole different world in most of the rooms!

En route to Boston! PRIME Summit here I come. My talk's not until Wednesday but, tomorrow, Cytiva factory tour! Behind the scenes of where they make AKTAs!

A “Quick Start Guide” for starting off in research with good habits Some things I recommend you do/learn/etc. as early as possible in your training… blog version: bit.ly/quickstartsc... ; downloadable: bit.ly/quickstartre...

Here are modified versions of a couple of study guides/outlines I provide my students for my Biochemistry course. Hope they can help someone. Study Guide 1: docs.google.com/document/d/1... Study Guide 2: drive.google.com/file/d/1oUHm...

Lab tip: fold up a paper towel to make a hot flask holder when preparing agarose gels. Just fold it up, wrap it around the neck of the flask, pinch it close to the glass and don't burn yourself! youtube.com/shorts/qyCmE...

I love how my students, just like I did as a student, are falling in love with protein purification! And, they’re wanting to help others learn by starring in tutorial videos! YouTube: youtu.be/ysuGCxME2lg Today, I got to teach Korina about good chromatography column storage protocol.

Teaching undergraduates protein biochemistry is an immense privilege. Especially with this group of students!

We keep our AKTA (FPLC machine for protein chromatography to purify proteins) in a deli fridge to protect the precious proteins we’re purifying! But it’s important to know that at temperatures that are low, you typically need to reduce your flow, so your runs will go slow! youtu.be/sTPyK0fF-Ys

Someone had been asking about resources for starting researchers, so I thought I'd share this quick start guide to starting research with good habits. I updated it today to make sure it had the newest links and added a couple things. Hope it can help someone!

Priming your pumps on an AKTA is important for removing air from them that can damage your system and mess up your chromatography run! youtu.be/0br_kJTDFV4

Can't wait!

Label your lids! One of the key lab tips I try to drill into my trainees: label the caps of tubes and bottles and all sides of boxes (and include date and initials) youtube.com/shorts/yjwkJ...

Huge thanks to Devin Feil, Loyola Marymount University for the new headshots!

I love getting to teach my students fun lab tricks. Today, 80% glycerol! The greatness of glycerol without the gunk! Try preparing an 80% glycerol solution. It’s way easier to work with! Here’s a practical look at how you can do it.   youtu.be/ATlsl42x_-A

Pretty protein purification peak :) youtube.com/shorts/0Yr0m...